Methods and apparatus for dl/ul format determination within a subframe

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the disclosure provide an apparatus that includes a transceiver circuit and a processing circuit. The transceiver circuit is configured to transmit/receive signals in a shared channel by the apparatus and other apparatuses. A portion of transmission resources in the shared channel is allocated to the apparatus to carry control information in a control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain. The processing circuit is configured to determine the control information format, encode/decode the control information based on the control information format and encode/decode data according to the control information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from PCT Application NumberPCT/CN2016/101229, entitled “DL/UL format determination within asubframe”, filed on Sep. 30, 2016; the subject matter of which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to wireless communication,and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for control informationconfiguration in wireless communication.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the description that may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentdisclosure.

In a wireless communication network, a network provider can use a sharedchannel to communicate with one or more user equipment (UE). In anexample, the network provider provides downlink control information ofthe shared channel to the one or more user equipment. Then the one ormore user equipment can receive/transmit data using the shared channelaccording to the downlink control information.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure provide an apparatus that includes atransceiver circuit and a processing circuit. The transceiver circuit isconfigured to transmit/receive signals in a shared channel by theapparatus and other apparatuses. A portion of transmission resources inthe shared channel is allocated to the apparatus to carry controlinformation in a control information format that is adjustable in timedomain and frequency domain. The processing circuit is configured todetermine the control information format, encode/decode the controlinformation based on the control information format and encode/decodedata according to the control information.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the transceiver circuit isconfigured to receive downlink signals from an allocation controlapparatus to the apparatus and generate digital samples in response tothe downlink signals. The downlink signals have a plurality of frequencysub-bands allocated as the transmission resources, a specific frequencysub-band is allocated to the apparatus to carry the data and the controlinformation to the apparatus and to carry an indicator for the controlinformation format. The processing circuit is configured to receive thedigital samples, process the digital samples to generate symbols in therespective frequency sub-bands, determine the control information formatbased on the indicator, and decode the control information according tothe control information format.

In an embodiment, the processing circuit is configured to determine thecontrol information format based on a bandwidth of a frequency sub-bandallocated to the apparatus.

In another embodiment, the processing circuit is configured to determinethe control information format based on a transmission slot structure ofthe signals. In an example, the processing circuit is configured todetermine the slot structure as one of an uplink-only structure, adownlink-only structure, an uplink-major structure, and a downlink-majorstructure.

Aspects of the disclosure provide a method of communication. The methodincludes determining, by a processing circuit in an apparatus, controlinformation format that is adjustable in time domain and frequencydomain. Control information is carried by a portion of transmissionresources in a shared channel according to the control informationformat. The method further includes encoding/decoding the controlinformation based on the control information format, andencoding/decoding data according to the control information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of this disclosure that are proposed as exampleswill be described in detail with reference to the following figures,wherein like numerals reference like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary communication system 100according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows format examples of resource structures 210-240 for downlinkand uplink according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart outlining a process 300 according to anembodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart outlining a process 400 according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary communication system 100according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The communication system100 includes a first electronic device 110 that communicates with one ormore second electronic devices 160A-160N using a shared channel.According to the disclosure, the shared channel includes transmissionresources that are allocated to carry data and control information. Theshared channel is configured to use a flexible control informationformat for the control information, thus the shared channel can havemore transmission resources saved to carry the data.

The communication system 100 can be any suitable wireless communicationsystem that uses suitable wireless communication technology, such assecond generation (2G) mobile network technology, third generation (3G)mobile network technology, fourth generation (4G) mobile networktechnology, fifth generation (5G) mobile network technology, globalsystem for mobile communication (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE), a NewRadio (NR) access technology, a wireless local area network (WLAN), andthe like.

In an embodiment, the first electronic device 110 is an interface node,such as a base transceiver station, a Node B, an evolved Node B, and thelike, in a telecommunication service provider. The first electronicdevice 110 includes hardware components and software componentsconfigured to enable wireless communications between the firstelectronic device 110 and the second electronic devices 160A-160N thathave subscribed services of the telecommunication service provider. Thefirst electronic device 110 is suitably coupled with other nodes, suchas core nodes in a backbone of the telecommunication service provider,other interface nodes of the telecommunication service provider, and thelike.

Further, in an embodiment, the second electronic devices 160A-160N areterminal devices. In an example, a terminal device is user equipmentused by an end-user for mobile telecommunication, such as a cell phone,a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop, a wearable device and thelike. In another example, a terminal device is a stationary device, suchas a desktop computer. In another example, a terminal device is amachine type communication device, such as a wireless sensor, anInternet of things (IoT) device and the like.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the communication system 100is configured to use a shared channel in the physical layer to transmitinformation, such as data, control information, and the like, to/fromthe second electronic devices 160A-160N. In an example, when the sharedchannel is used to transmit information from the first electronic device110 to the second electronic devices 160A-160N, the shared channel isreferred to as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); when theshared channel is used to transmit information from the secondelectronic devices 160A-160N to the first electronic device 110, theshared channel is referred to as a physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH). The shared channel includes transmission resources that areallocated to the second electronic devices 160A-160N. In an example, theresource allocation information for the downlink and/or uplinkcommunication is included in downlink control information (DCI) withother control information. For example, a sub-frame in downlink carriesDCI for transmission in the current sub-frame and further transmissions.The downlink control information (DCI) is carried by a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) in the sub-frame.

In an embodiment, the shared channel is configured to support timedivision multiplexing (TDM) and/or frequency division multiplexing(FDM).

In an example, in the frequency domain, sub-carriers are defined in thefrequency domain according to a sub-carrier spacing. In an example, acarrier of 20 MHz bandwidth can include 1200 sub-carriers according to15 KHz sub-carrier spacing. In another example, a carrier of 160 MHzbandwidth can include 2400 sub-carriers according to 60 KHz sub-carrierspacing. Further, in an example, the carrier can be divided intosub-bands in the frequency domain. The sub-bands can have the same ordifferent number of sub-carriers. In an example, a carrier of 160 MHzbandwidth can be divided into 20 sub-bands of the same bandwidth persub-band, thus each sub-band includes 120 sub-carriers.

In the time domain, in an example, transmissions are structured in thetime duration as radio frames. In an example, each radio frame is 10 mslong and consists of ten sub-frames of 1 ms each. In another example,each radio frame is 10 ms long and consists of forty sub-frames of 0.25ms each. A sub-frame can be further divided into for example 2 timeslots, and a time slot can be divided into 7 symbol periods in anexample.

In an embodiment, transmission resources of a shared channel areallocated in time and frequency domains. For example, in the twodimensional time and frequency domain, a resource element (RE) is madeup of a symbol in the time domain and a sub-carrier in the frequencydomain. Further, in an example, a physical resource block (PRB) is madeup of a slot in the time domain and 12 sub-carriers in the frequencydomain.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, transmission resources of ashared channel (e.g., a sub-frame, a slot) are allocated by frequencysub-bands. The shared channel can be a downlink channel or an uplinkchannel Further, frequency sub-bands are respectively configured withflexible/adjustable control information formats, thus differentfrequency sub-bands can have different control information format. Thecontrol information format includes at least one of following elements:a transmission scheme (e.g., diversity vs beamforming, narrow band vswide band), a channel duration in time domain, the channel resources infrequency domain or code domain.

In an embodiment, the frequency domain is partitioned into, for examplea first sub-band of a first bandwidth, a second sub-band of a secondbandwidth, and the like. The first sub-band is allocated to a firstgroup of the second electronic devices, and the second sub-band isallocated to a second group of the second electronic devices. The firstgroup and the second group respectively include one or more secondelectronic devices. The first bandwidth and the second bandwidth can bethe same or can be different. The first sub-band and the second sub-bandcan be respectively configured to carry control information and data. Inan example, the first sub-band is configured to have two symbol periodsallocated for control information (referred to as control channel) andthe rest of the symbol periods allocated for data (referred to as datachannel), and the second sub-band is configured to have one symbolperiod allocated for control information (referred to as controlchannel) and the rest of the symbol periods allocated for data (referredto as data channel). Further, in an embodiment, resources in the controlchannel can be allocated according to TDM technique. In an example, thefirst sub-band is allocated to two devices, a first symbol period in thecontrol channel can be allocated to carry control information of onedevice, and a second symbol period in the control channel can beallocated to the other device.

Further, according to an aspect of the disclosure, the controlinformation format can be used to determine time and frequencyinformation for control channel and data channel. In an example, thecontrol information format can be used to determine a time duration oftransmission resources that are allocated to carry the controlinformation. In another example, the control information format is usedto determine a starting time point and/or an ending time point oftransmission resources that are allocated to carry the data.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the control information formatcan be explicitly or implicitly indicated, thus the second electronicdevices 160A-160N can respectively determine corresponding controlinformation format. In an embodiment, the first electronic device 110includes one or more indicators in a DCI for one or more secondelectronic devices. The one or more indicators indicate the controlinformation format. In an example, the control information format, suchas a transmission scheme, a channel duration in time domain, the channelresources in frequency domain or code domain and the like, iscollectively encoded in a single indicator to indicate a combination ofthe elements in the control information format. In another embodiment,the control information format is encoded as multiple independentindicators for respective elements.

In another embodiment, the control information format of a frequencysub-band depends on other characteristic of transmission resources inthe frequency sub-band. In an example, control information format for asub-band is associated with a bandwidth of the sub-band. For example, acontrol channel occupies 2 symbol period in the sub-band when thebandwidth of the sub-band is 5 MHz, and occupies 1 symbol period in thesub-band when the bandwidth of the sub-band is 10 MHz.

In another example, control information format in a sub-band isassociated with a structure of transmission resources in the sub-band,such as a slot structure, and the like in time domain. In an example, atime slot or a sub-frame can have one of four slot structures, such as adownlink-only structure, an uplink-only structure, a downlink-majorstructure and an uplink-major structure. For example, the downlink-onlystructure includes only downlink transmission within a slot; theuplink-only structure includes only uplink transmission within a slot;the downlink-major structure includes both downlink and uplinktransmission in a slot, and downlink transmission duration in the slotis longer than uplink transmission duration in the slot; anduplink-major structure includes both downlink and uplink transmission ina slot, and uplink transmission duration is longer than the downlinktransmission duration. Guard period (GP) may be included in the slotstructure. In an example, each slot structure has an associated controlinformation format. Thus, when, for example, the second electronicdevice 160A determines a slot structure, the second electronic device160A can determine the control information format that is associatedwith the determined slot structure.

In an embodiment, the information of slot structure for, for example thesecond electronic device 160A, is carried in the DCI for the secondelectronic device 160A. In an example, the DCI includes an indicator forthe slot structure of the transmission resources, such as in indicatorfor a slot structure. It is noted that the DCI that carries theindicator for the slot structure of the transmission resources can beuser equipment (UE)-specific, or cell-specific.

In an example, a radio resource control (RRC) connection is setupbetween the first electronic device 110 and a second electronic device,such as the second electronic device 160A, thus the second electronicdevice 160A can receive UE-specific DCI that includes an indictor forthe slot structure. For example, the UE-specific DCI is carried bytransmission resources in a sub-band that is allocated to the secondelectronic device 160A. The second electronic device 160A can determinethe slot structure based on the indicator in the UE-specific DCI.

In another example, when the RRC connection is released, the secondelectronic device 160A enters an idle state, and the second electronicdevice 160A can receive a cell-specific DCI that is broadcasted from thefirst electronic device 110, and is common to the second electronicdevices 160A-160N. The second electronic device 160A can receive thecell-specific DCI that includes an indicator for the slot structure,determine the slot structure based on the cell-specific DCI.

In another example, the first electronic device 110multicasts/group-casts an indicator to a group of the second electronicdevices that have the same slot structure. The group of the secondelectronic devices can determine the slot structure based on themulti-casted/group-casted indicator.

In another example, an indicator of a slot structure for, for examplethe second electronic device 160A, is carried by transmission resourcesthat are allocated for common usage by, for example, a group of thesecond electronic devices 160A-160N. The transmission resourcesallocated for common usage can carry multicast information to the groupor unicast information, for example to the second electronic device160A. In an example, the transmission resources allocated for commonusage by the group occupy a smaller bandwidth than a full systembandwidth.

Specifically, in the FIG. 1 example, a radio frame that includes asub-frame 150 is transmitted between the first electronic device 110 andthe second electronic devices 160A-160N. The sub-frame 150 includesmultiple frequency sub-bands in the frequency domain, such as a firstsub-band 151 and a second sub-band 155. In an example, the firstsub-band 151 is allocated to for example the second electronic device160A, and the second sub-band 155 is allocated to the second electronicdevice 160N. The control information formats of the first sub-band 151and the second sub-band 155 are respectively configured, and can bedifferent.

In the FIG. 1 example, the first sub-band 151 includes transmissionresources 152 allocated for transmitting control information, andincludes transmission resources 153 allocated for transmitting data; andthe second sub-band 155 includes transmission resources 156 allocatedfor transmitting control information, and transmission resources 157allocated for transmitting data. In the FIG. 1 example, the timeduration for the transmission resources 152 is different from the timeduration for the transmission resources 156. For example, thetransmission resources 152 occupy one symbol period, and thetransmission resources 156 occupy two symbol periods.

In a related example, a centralized control channel is used to transmitdownlink control information. In the related example, the centralizedcontrol channel occupies first one or two or three symbols in the timedomain, and occupies across most of the system frequency domain todeliver DCI messages. For example, when the number of second electronicdevices 160A-160N is less than a first threshold (e.g., 10), thecentralized control channel occupies the first symbol in the timedomain, and occupies across most of the system frequency domain; whenthe number of second electronic devices 160A-160N is between the firstthreshold and a second threshold (e.g., 20), the centralized controlchannel occupies the first two symbols in the time domain, and occupiesacross most of the frequency domain; and when the number of secondelectronic devices 160A-160N is between the second threshold and a thirdthreshold (e.g., 30), the centralized control channel occupies the firstthree symbols in the time domain, and occupies across most of the systemfrequency domain.

In the FIG. 1 example, control information is distributed in thefrequency sub-bands, and flexible control format is used in respectivefrequency sub-bands, transmission resources can be saved at the sub-bandlevel, and the saved transmission resources can be used to transmit moredata in the sub-band level in an example.

In an example, the sub-frame 150 is a downlink sub-frame, the secondelectronic devices 160A-160N receive the sub-frame 150, the secondelectronic devices 160A-160N are respectively configured to monitor thefrequency sub-bands 151 and 155, decode the control channels 152 and156, and determine the control information and the resource assignmentsbased on the decoding.

In an embodiment, when the frequency sub-band 151 is allocated to thesecond electronic device 160A, the frequency sub-band 151 is encoded tobe indicative of the second electronic device 160A. For example, somebits, such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits in the frequencysub-band 151 is generated via an identifier (e.g., radio networktemporary identifier) of the second electronic device 160A.

In the embodiment, the second electronic device 160A monitors thesub-bands 151 and 155, and decodes the control channel 152 and 156.During the decoding, in an example, the second electronic device 160Auses its own identifier to decode the control channel 152 and 156.Further, in an embodiment, the second electronic device 160A can decodethe control channel 152 and 156 according to a plurality of formats. Inan example, when the control channel 152 is decoded successfullyaccording to one of the formats, the second electronic device 160A candetermine the resource allocation and encoding format based on thedecoding success, and extract the control information delivered by thecontrol channel 152.

It is noted that, the other second electronic devices can operatesimilarly as the second electronic device 160A.

In another example, the sub-frame 150 is an uplink sub-frame that istransmitted by one or more of the second electronic devices 160A-160Naccording to resource assignments provided by the first electronicdevice 110. The resource assignments are carried by DCI in a downlinksub-frame.

Specifically, in the FIG. 1 example, the first electronic device 110includes a first transceiver 113 and a first processing circuit 120coupled together. In the example, the first processing circuit 120includes a transmission processing circuit 130 for the flexible controlformat. The first electronic device 110 can include other suitablecomponents (not shown), such as processors, memory, a receptionprocessing circuit and the like. In an embodiment, the first electronicdevice 110 may include a memory which stores program instructions and/ordata to control the operations of the first electronic device 110.

The second electronic device 160A includes a second transceiver 163A anda second processing circuit 170A coupled together. The second processingcircuit 170A includes a reception processing circuit 180A for theflexible control format and a transmission processing circuit 185A forthe flexible control format. The second electronic device 160A caninclude other suitable components (not shown), such as processors,memory, and the like. Other second electronic devices are configuredsimilarly as the second electronic device 160A. In an embodiment, thesecond electronic device 160A may include a memory which stores programinstructions and/or data to control the operations of the secondelectronic device 160A.

The first transceiver 113 is configured to receive and transmit wirelesssignals. In an example, the first transceiver 113 includes a receivingcircuit RX 116 and a transmitting circuit TX 115. The receiving circuitRX 116 is configured to generate electrical signals in response tocaptured electromagnetic waves by an antenna 114, and process theelectrical signals to extract digital samples from the electricalsignals. For example, the receiving circuit RX 116 can filter, amplify,down convert, and digitalize the electrical signals to generate thedigital samples. The receiving circuit RX 116 can provide the digitalsamples to the first processing circuit 120 for further processing.

In an example, the transmitting circuit TX 115 is configured to receivedigital stream (e.g., output samples) from the first processing circuit120, process the digital stream to generate radio frequency (RF)signals, and cause the antenna 114 to emit electromagnetic waves in theair to carry the digital stream. In an example, the transmitting circuitTX 115 can convert the digital stream to analog signals, and amplify,filter and up-convert the analog signals to generate the RF signals.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the transmission processingcircuit 130 is configured to receive downlink control information andencode the downlink control information into a control channel accordingto the flexible control format. Further, the transmission processingcircuit 130 is configured to suitably encode data, and generate adigital stream (e.g., output samples) in response to the encoded dataand downlink control information.

In an embodiment, the transmission processing circuit 130 is configuredto receive downlink control information message for a second electronicdevice, such as for the second electronic device 160A, or for a group ofsecond electronic devices, and perform channel coding on the downlinkcontrol information to generate encoded control bits. In an example, thetransmission processing circuit 130 is configured to insert cyclicredundancy check (CRC), and conduct rate matching and the like togenerate the encoded control bits. In an example, the transmissionprocessing circuit 130 generates the CRC bits with an identifier, suchas an identifier of the second electronic device 160A, a systeminformation identifier, and the like.

Then, in an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 isconfigured to map the encoded control bits to one or more controlresource sets according to the flexible control format. For example, thetransmission processing circuit 130 is configured to perform quadraturephase shift keying (QPSK) modulation, and generate orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols for the encoded controlbits. Then, the transmission processing circuit 130 can map the OFDMsymbols into a control channel in a frequency sub-band that is allocatedto the second electronic device 160A.

It is noted that, in an embodiment, the transmission processing circuit130 can encode DCI messages for respective second electronic devicesinto frequency sub-bands that are respectively allocated to the secondelectronic devices. In another embodiment, the transmission processingcircuit 130 can encode group-specific DCI messages for respective groupsof the second electronic devices into frequency sub-bands that arerespectively allocated to the groups.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the transmission processingcircuit 130 can also process the data according to suitable channelcoding technique, such as error detection coding technique, ratematching coding technique, low density parity check (LDPC) codingtechnique, polar coding technique and the like. The processed data issuitably modulated and multiplexed. In an example, the data can bemodulated using suitable modulation technique, such as quadrature phaseshift keying (QPSK) and the like, and can be multiplexed using suitablemultiplexing technique, such as orthogonal frequency-divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) and the like. Then, the modulated symbols areinterleaved and mapped to physical resource elements (REs) allocated fordata transmission.

The transmission processing circuit 130 then generates the digitalstream based on the resource element mapping results of the dataprocessing and the downlink control information processing.

It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 130 can performother suitable functions, such as scrambling, and the like. It is notedthat the transmission processing circuit 130 can be implemented usingvarious techniques. In an example, the transmission processing circuit130 is implemented as integrated circuits. In another example,transmission processing circuit 130 is implemented as one or moreprocessors executing software instructions.

The second transceiver 163A is configured to receive and transmitwireless signals. In an example, the second transceiver 163A includes areceiving circuit RX 166A and a transmitting circuit TX 165A. Thereceiving circuit RX 166A is configured to generate electrical signalsin response to captured electromagnetic waves by an antenna 164A, andprocess the electrical signals to extract digital samples from theelectrical signals. For example, the receiving circuit RX 166A canfilter, amplify, down convert, and digitalize the electrical signals togenerate the digital samples. The receiving circuit RX 166A can providethe digital samples to the second processing circuit 170A for furtherprocessing.

In an example, the transmitting circuit TX 165A is configured to receivea digital stream (e.g., output samples) from the second processingcircuit 170A, process the digital stream to generate radio frequency(RF) signals, and cause the antenna 164A to emit electromagnetic wavesin the air to carry the digital stream. In an example, the transmittingcircuit TX 165A can convert the digital stream to analog signals, andamplify, filter and up-convert the analog signals to generate the RFsignals.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the reception processingcircuit 180A is configured to receive the digital samples from thereceiving circuit RX 166A, process the digital samples to generatesymbols in the respective frequency sub-bands, decode the symbols in therespective frequency sub-bands to determine the specific frequencysub-band that is allocated to the second electronic device 160A, andextract the downlink control information for the second electronicdevice 160A.

In an embodiment, the reception processing circuit 180A is configured toreceive the digital samples, and perform demodulation on the digitalsamples to generate symbols for resource elements in the two dimensionaltime frequency domain. Further, the reception processing circuit 180A isconfigured to decode symbols at the control channel according to theflexible control format.

In an embodiment, the reception processing circuit 180A is configured todecode symbols at the control channel candidates according to frequencysub-bands. In an example, for a frequency sub-band, the receptionprocessing circuit 180A is configured to collect the symbols of thecontrol channel, and attempt to decode the collected symbols. In anexample, a control channel can have multiple formats. The receptionprocessing circuit 180A can decode respectively according to themultiple formats. In another example, the second electronic device 160Acan have multiple identifiers. The reception processing circuit 180A cande-mask CRC bits respectively according to the multiple identifier. Thereception processing circuit 180A can perform CRC decoding.

In an example, when the reception processing circuit 180A achieves asuccess in CRC decoding (e.g., no CRC error) in a frequency sub-band,the reception processing circuit 180A determines that the frequencysub-band is allocated to the second electronic device 160A. Then, thereception processing circuit 180A can perform a full decoding to extractthe control information and the data in the frequency sub-band.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the reception processingcircuit 180A is configured to detect the control information format ofthe control channel for the second electronic device 160A. In anexample, an indicator of the control information format is at a specificposition in the two dimensional time frequency domain of a sub-frame ofdownlink, the reception processing circuit 180A checks the specificposition for the indicator. In another example, the control informationformat is indicated by a characteristic of the frequency sub-band, suchas a bandwidth of a frequency sub-band, a slot structure, and the like,and the reception processing circuit 180A detects an indicator for thecharacteristic or detects the characteristic.

In an embodiment, the reception processing circuit 180 can detect acontrol information format of a control channel. In an example, thereception processing circuit 180A collects symbols of a control channelin a potential frequency sub-band, and attempts to decode the collectedsymbols. In an example, the control channel has multiple potentialformats. The reception processing circuit 180A can attempt to decoderespectively according to the multiple potential formats. In anotherexample, the second electronic device 160A has multiple identifiers. Thereception processing circuit 180A can attempt to decode CRC bitsrespectively according to the multiple identifiers. Further, thereception processing circuit 180A performs CRC decoding. When an attemptof a potential control information format achieves a success in CRCdecoding (e.g., no CRC error), the potential frequency sub-band is thefrequency sub-band allocated to the second electronic device 160A, andthe reception processing circuit 180 detects the control informationformat as the potential control information format.

It is noted that the reception processing circuit 180A can beimplemented using various techniques. In an example, the receptionprocessing circuit 180A is implemented as integrated circuits. Inanother example, the reception processing circuit 180A is implemented asone or more processors executing software instructions.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the transmission processingcircuit 185A is configured to receive uplink control information andencode the uplink control information into a control channel accordingto the flexible control format. Further, the transmission processingcircuit 185A is configured to suitably encode data, and generate adigital stream (e.g., output samples) in response to the encoded dataand uplink control information.

It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 185A can performother suitable functions, such as scrambling, and the like. It is notedthat the transmission processing circuit 185A can be implemented usingvarious techniques. In an example, the transmission processing circuit185A is implemented as integrated circuits. In another example,transmission processing circuit 185A is implemented as one or moreprocessors executing software instructions.

It is also noted that while single antenna per device is used in theFIG. 1 example, the communication system 100 can be suitably modified tousing multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology.

FIG. 2 shows format examples of resource structures 210-240 for downlinkand uplink according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In an example,the resource structures 210-240 respectively correspond to a sub-frameor a time slot in a two dimensional time-frequency domain. In anexample, the first electronic device 110 is configured to send asub-frame according to the resource structure 210 or the resourcestructure 220. In another example, the second electronic device 160A andthe second electronic device 160N are configured to send a sub-frameaccording to the resource structure 230 or the resource structure 240.

In the FIG. 2 example, the X-axis denotes to time domain, and the Y-axisdenotes to frequency domain. The frequency domain can be partitionedinto multiple sub-bands of same bandwidth or different bandwidths. Thetime domain can be partitioned into for example 14 symbol periods.

In the FIG. 2 example, the resource structure 210 includes a firstsub-band 211 that is allocated to for example the second electronicdevice 160A (or a first group of devices), and a second sub-band 215that is allocated to for example the second electronic device 160N (or asecond group of devices). The first sub-band 211 includes resources 212and resources 213 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In anexample, the resources 212 form a control channel to carry controlinformation, such as DCI and the like, to the second electronic device160A (or the first group of devices), and the resources 213 form a datachannel to carry data to the second electronic device 160A (or the firstgroup of devices). The second sub-band 215 includes resources 216 andresources 217 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In anexample, the resources 216 form a control channel to carry controlinformation, such as DCI and the like, to the second electronic device160N (or the second group of devices), and the resources 217 form a datachannel to carry data to the second electronic device 160N (or thesecond group of devices). The control channels of the sub-bands arerespectively formatted according to respect control information formats.For example, the resources 212 occupy one symbol period, and theresources 216 occupy two symbol periods.

In the FIG. 2 example, the resource structure 220 includes a firstsub-band 221 that is allocated to a group of second electronic devices,such as the second electronic device 160A and the second electronicdevice 160N, and a second sub-band 225 that is allocated to for examplea second electronic device that is not shown. In an embodiment, thefirst sub-band 221 includes resources 222, resources 223 and resources224 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In an example, theresources 222 form a control channel to carry control information, suchas DCI and the like, to the second electronic device 160A, the resources223 form a control channel to carry control information, such as DCI andthe like to the second electronic device 160N, and the resources 224form a data channel to carry data to the second electronic device 160Aand the second electronic device 160N. The resource assignments of thedata channel respectively to the second electronic device 160A and thesecond electronic device 160N can be indicated in the control channels.

The second sub-band 225 includes resources 226 and resources 227 thatare multiplexed according to TDM technique. In an example, the resources226 form a control channel to carry control information, such as DCI andthe like, to the second electronic device that is not shown, and theresources 227 form a data channel to carry data to the second electronicdevice that is not shown.

In an example, the resources 222 occupy one symbol period, the resources223 occupy one symbol period and the resources 226 occupy three symbolperiods.

In another example, resources 223 are not used by the second electronicdevice 160A and the second electronic device 160N, and can be used byother suitable device.

In the FIG. 2 example, the resource structure 230 includes a firstsub-band 231 that is allocated to for example the second electronicdevice 160A (or a first group of devices), and a second sub-band 235that is allocated to for example the second electronic device 160N (or asecond group of devices). The first sub-band 231 includes resources 232and resources 233 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In anexample, the resources 232 form a data channel to carry data from thesecond electronic device 160A (or the first group of devices), and theresources 233 form a control channel to carry control information, suchas hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement(ACK)/negative-acknowledgement (NACK), channel quality indicators,scheduling requests for uplink transmission, and the likefrom the secondelectronic device 160A. The second sub-band 235 includes resources 236and resources 237 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In anexample, the resources 236 form a data channel to carry data from thesecond electronic device 160N (or the second group of devices), and theresources 237 form a control channel to carry control information, suchas HARQ ACK/NACK, channel quality indicators, scheduling requests foruplink transmission, and the like from the second electronic device160N. The control channels of the sub-bands are respectively formattedaccording to respect control information formats. For example, theresources 233 occupy two symbol periods, and the resources 237 occupyone symbol period.

In the FIG. 2 example, the resource structure 240 is allocated accordingto FDM, TDM and/or CDM techniques. In an example, the resource structure240 is partitioned into resources 241, resources 242, resources 243 andresources 244. In an example, the resources 241 form a data channel forthe second electronic device 160A, the resources 242 form a data channelfor the second electronic device 160N, the resources 243 form a controlchannel for the second electronic device 160A, and the resources 244form a control channel for the second electronic device 160N. In anexample, the data channels occupied different frequency sub-band, andthe control channels occupy for example system frequency domain.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart outlining a process 300 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. In an example, the process 300 is executedby the first electronic device 110 to transmit radio frames according toflexible control format. The process starts at S301 and proceeds toS310.

At S310, resource allocation information is obtained. In an example, thefirst electronic device 110 receives the sub-band allocation informationdetermined by other devices. In another example, a processor in thefirst electronic device 110 determines the resource allocationinformation, and provides the resource allocation information to thetransmission processing circuit 130. The resource allocation informationincludes assignments of transmission resources of a sub-frame in the twodimensional time frequency domain to the second electronic devices160A-160N, such as the resource structure 210, and the like.

At S320, downlink control information is encoded according to controlinformation formats for control channels. In addition, indication of thecontrol information formats is included in downlink control information.In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 receives downlinkcontrol information for the second electronic device 160A and performschannel coding on the downlink control information to generate encodedcontrol bits. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 caninsert cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and conduct rate matching and thelike to generate the encoded control bits. In an example, thetransmission processing circuit 130 can also generate the CRC bits viaan identifier, such as an identifier of the second electronic device160A, a system information identifier, and the like.

Then, in the example, the transmission processing circuit 130 canperform quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation, and generateorthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols for theencoded control bits. Further, the transmission processing circuit 130can map the OFDM symbols into the control channel according to thecontrol information format for the second electronic device 160A.

It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 130 can processdownlink control information for other second electronic devices in thesame or similar manner.

In an example, the control information format is implicitly indicatedby, for example, a bandwidth of a sub-band allocated to the secondelectronic device 160A, a slot structure for the second electronicdevice 160A, and the like. In another example, one or more indicatorsare included in the DCI to explicitly indicate the control informationformat.

At S330, data is encoded according to the allocation information. In anexample, the transmission processing circuit 130 then processes the datato the second electronic device 160A according to suitable channelcoding technique, such as error detection coding technique, ratematching coding technique, low density parity check (LDPC) codingtechnique, polar coding technique and the like. The processed data issuitably modulated and multiplexed. In an example, the data can bemodulated using suitable modulation technique, such as quadrature phaseshift keying (QPSK) and the like, and can be multiplexed using suitablemultiplexing technique, such as orthogonal frequency-divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) and the like. Then, the modulated symbols areinterleaved and mapped to physical resource elements (REs) that areallocated for data transmission to the second electronic device 160A.

It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 130 can processdata to other second electronic devices in the same or similar manner.The transmission processing circuit 130 then generates a digital stream(e.g., output samples) based on the resource element mapping results ofthe data processing and the downlink control information processing.

At S340, wireless signals are transmitted to carry data and downlinkcontrol information. In an example, the transmitting circuit TX 115receives the digital stream (e.g., output samples), processes thedigital stream to generate radio frequency (RF) signals, and causes theantenna 114 to emit electromagnetic waves in the air to carry thedigital stream. Then the process proceeds to S399 and terminates.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart outlining a process 400 according to anembodiment of the disclosure. In an example, the process 400 is executedby the second electronic device 160A. The process starts at S401 andproceeds to S410.

At S410, wireless signals are received. In an example, the receivingcircuit RX 166A generates electrical signals in response to capturedelectromagnetic waves by the antenna 164A, and processes the electricalsignals to extract digital samples from the electrical signals. Forexample, the receiving circuit RX 166A can filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitalize the electrical signals to generate the digitalsamples.

At S420, symbols in a sub-frame are generated. In an example, thereception processing circuit 180A receives the digital samples, andperforms demodulation on the digital samples to generate symbols forresource elements in the two dimensional time frequency domain.

At S430, an indicator for control information format is detected. In anexample, the indicator is at a specific position in the two dimensionaltime frequency domain of the sub-frame, the reception processing circuit180A checks the specific position for the indicator. In another example,the control information format is indicated by a characteristic of thefrequency sub-band, such as a bandwidth of a frequency sub-band, a slotstructure, and the like, and the reception processing circuit 180Adetects the characteristic or indicators of the characteristic.

In an embodiment, the reception processing circuit 180A detects thecontrol information format. In an example, the reception processingcircuit 180A collects symbols of a control channel in a potentialfrequency sub-band, and attempts to decode the collected symbols. In anexample, the control channel has multiple potential formats. Thereception processing circuit 180A can attempt to decode respectivelyaccording to the multiple potential formats. In another example, thesecond electronic device 160A has multiple identifiers. The receptionprocessing circuit 180A can attempt to de-mask CRC bits respectivelyaccording to the multiple identifiers. Further, the reception processingcircuit 180A performs CRC decoding. When an attempt of a potentialformat achieves a success in CRC decoding (e.g., no CRC error), thereception processing circuit 180 determines that the potential format isthe control information format.

At S440, control information is decoded based on the indicator. In anexample, the reception processing circuit 180A determines the controlinformation format that is indicated by the indicator. Then, thereception processing circuit 180A can perform decoding according to thecontrol information format.

At S450, the control information is used for communication. In anexample, the reception processing circuit 180A can decode the data tothe second electronic device 160A according to the control information.Further, the second electronic device 160A can send uplink dataaccording to the control information in an example. In another example,the transmission processing circuit 185A can use allocated resources foruplink to prepare digital samples for transmission. Then the processproceeds to S499 and terminates.

When implemented in hardware, the hardware may comprise one or more ofdiscrete components, an integrated circuit, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), etc.

While aspects of the present disclosure have been described inconjunction with the specific embodiments thereof that are proposed asexamples, alternatives, modifications, and variations to the examplesmay be made. Accordingly, embodiments as set forth herein are intendedto be illustrative and not limiting. There are changes that may be madewithout departing from the scope of the claims set forth below.

1. An apparatus, comprising: a transceiver circuit configured totransmit/receive signals in a shared channel by the apparatus and otherapparatuses, a portion of transmission resources in the shared channelbeing allocated to the apparatus to carry control information in acontrol information format that is adjustable in time domain andfrequency domain; and a processing circuit configured to determine thecontrol information format, encode/decode the control information basedon the control information format and encode/decode data according tothe control information.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thetransceiver circuit is configured to receive downlink signals from anallocation control apparatus to the apparatus and generate digitalsamples in response to the downlink signals, the downlink signals havinga plurality of frequency sub-bands allocated as the transmissionresources, a specific frequency sub-band being allocated to theapparatus to carry the data and the control information to the apparatusand to carry an indicator for the control information format; and theprocessing circuit is configured to receive the digital samples, processthe digital samples to generate symbols in the respective frequencysub-bands, determine the control information format based on theindicator, and decode the control information according to the controlinformation format.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processingcircuit is configured to determine the control information format basedon a bandwidth of a frequency sub-band allocated to the apparatus. 4.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configuredto determine the control information format based on a transmission timeinterval (TTI) structure of the signals.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4,wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the slotstructure as one of an uplink-only structure, a downlink-only structure,an uplink-major structure, and a downlink-major structure.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured todetermine a time duration of transmission resources that are allocatedto carry the control information based on the control informationformat.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit isconfigured to determine a starting time point and/or an ending timepoint of transmission resources that are allocated to carry the databased on the control information format.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the controlinformation format based on downlink control information.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 8, wherein the downlink control information includesat least one of downlink control information that is specific for theapparatus, downlink control information that is broadcasted, downlinkcontrol information that is multi-casted.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the portion of transmission resources in the shared channel isconfigured to carry the control information of the apparatus and controlinformation of another apparatus in a manner of time divisionmultiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), and/or codedivision multiplexing (CDM).
 11. A method of communication, comprising:determining, by a processing circuit in an apparatus, controlinformation format that is adjustable in time domain and frequencydomain, control information being carried by a portion of transmissionresources in a shared channel according to the control informationformat; encoding/decoding the control information based on the controlinformation format; and encoding/decoding data according to the controlinformation.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving,by a receiving circuit in the apparatus, downlink signals from anallocation control apparatus to the apparatus, the downlink signalshaving a plurality of frequency sub-bands, a specific frequency sub-bandbeing allocated to the apparatus to carry the data and the controlinformation to the apparatus and to carry an indicator for the controlinformation format.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:generating digital samples in response to the downlink signals;generating symbols in the respective frequency sub-bands; anddetermining the control information format based on the indicator. 14.The method of claim 11, wherein determining, by the processing circuitin the apparatus, the control information format that is adjustable intime domain and frequency domain further comprises: determining thecontrol information format based on a bandwidth of a frequency sub-bandallocated to the apparatus.
 15. The method of claim 11, whereindetermining, by the processing circuit in the apparatus, the controlinformation format that is adjustable in time domain and frequencydomain further comprises: determining the control information formatbased on a transmission slot structure of the transmission resources.16. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the control informationformat based on the slot structure of the transmission resources furthercomprises: determining the slot structure as one of an uplink-onlystructure, a downlink-only structure, an uplink-major structure, and adownlink-major structure.
 17. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: determining a time duration of transmission resources thatare allocated to carry the control information based on the controlinformation format.
 18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:determining a starting time point and/or an ending time point oftransmission resources that are allocated to carry the data based on thecontrol information format.
 19. The method of claim 11, whereindetermining, by the processing circuit in the apparatus, the controlinformation format that is adjustable in time domain and frequencydomain further comprises: determining the control information formatbased on downlink control information.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein determining the control information format based on downlinkcontrol information comprises at least one of: determining the controlinformation format based on downlink control information that isspecific for the apparatus; determining the control information formatbased on downlink control information that is broadcasted; anddetermining the control information format based on downlink controlinformation that is group casted.